The Soul of a Machine
by Jason M. Lee
Summary: If Wing Zero had a soul, how would it be?


Disclaimers: All recognizable Gundam Wing characters belongs to Sunrise and Bandai. Everybody else is mine.

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**The Soul of a Machine**

Jason M. Lee

* * *

**AC 205**

Heero suddenly snapped his eyes open and blinked at the darkness. Slowly sitting up as not to disturb Relena, he looked around their room, trying to sense something.

It wasn't a nightmare or dream but something more like intuition, sixth-sense, instinct, gut feelings, whatever.

Reluctantly slipping out of the warm bed, he went into Adrian's room to check up on his son.

The seven year old was sleeping peacefully when Heero entered the room. A soft smile came onto his lips every time he saw Adrian sleeping. The hair and eyes was exactly like Heero's, except for the blonde streak on a portion of the bangs that matched Relena's hair.

Giving the boy a light kiss on the forehead, Heero slipped out of the room and went down into the hangars to check up on the Mobile Suits hidden underneath and near the Peacecraft Mansion.

The Tauruses and Tallgeese were fine but when Heero went over to Zero, something within him seemed to stir.

"Zero?" Heero quietly asked, not understanding why he was talking to his Gundam.

Nothing his head, Heero studied the powerful Mobile Suit for a few moments before leaving the hangar.

He never noticed the large Gundam flash it's eye optics, only for a few seconds.

x x x x x x x

"Oi, Heero!"

Said pilot looked down from the platform of Zero and saw Jason looking up at him while holding a box.

"What do you want?"

"Can I come up? I have the stuff you need!"

The cable lowered down and the younger pilot carefully sat down next to Heero, setting down the box after reaching the platform.

"Here's the disks, memory boards, AI schematics, manuals, and about everything else you requested." Jason looked at Heero as the older pilot continued to tinker with the Gundam. "Are you sure about installing an AI system into Zero? I mean, with that crazy ZERO System and everything."

"I'm not even sure myself. It was only an idea."

Amber eyes nearly popped out while the jaw slammed onto the platform. "You crazy?! How can you install an AI system into one of the most dangerous Mobile Suits in our history and not be sure why?!" Jason turned around, placing his hands behind his head. "Tch. And you're supposed to be the 'model' for us Gundam pilots! Don't come running to me if something happens. I only had problems dealing with AI machines that went insane, not AI itself. Catch ya." The younger pilot leapt down to the floor and went away, muttering about crazy systems driving pilots insane and to their death.

Shrugging, Heero kept right on tinkering until Adrian came into the hangar, hair tousled and still in his pajamas patterned with chibi-Zeroes in various poses, all the while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Tou-san? Whacha doing?" The little boy barely covered a yawn that could have split his face in two.

Looking down, the pilot of Zero had to smile when he saw his son. "Only tuning up Wing Zero, Adrian. What are you doing here?"

"Kaa-san is at another meeting and Zechsmill-jisan is talking with Noin-basan and they're going to meet up with Une-san. Can I stay here and watch you?"

Heero chuckled at Adrian's choice for his brother-in-law's name. The poor man had been pissed off to no end. "Change your clothes first. Don't want your sleeping clothes dirty."

"Kay!"Finally, Heero was done finish installing the entire system, no more than taking him several minutes. All he needed to do now was do the finishing touches."Can I come up, now?"

Laughing, Adrian's father lowered down the cable and the little boy held onto it tightly, knowing that falling down would mean major injuries. After plopping himself behind and to the side of his father, he stared at the large behemoth with full awe, no matter how many times he had seen it. "Neat! Can I fly Zero one day?"

Heero had to smile at that and ruffled his son's hair. "I don't think you'll need to in the future, Adrian. I wouldn't call it fun and it's pretty dangerous."

"Lieutenant Commander! Vice Foreign Minister Yuy is asking for you on the comm!" yelled one of the guards outside of the hangar.

"Tell my wife that I'll be there in a few seconds."

"Sir!"

After the final touches, Heero leapt down to the floor and before leaving the hangar, he looked back at Adrian. "Try not touch anything, Adrian. I don't want your mother yelling at me."

"Kay, tou-san!"

When Heero had already left the hangar and the boy was alone with the large Gundam, Adrian quickly read over the manual on installing an AI system. Curious, he followed the instructions and was able to load it into Zero without a hitch. At the bottom of the instructions, it mentioned about adding in a personality would be best and after careful scrutinizing, Adrian decided to put in his father's but only got the starting stages when his father came back in.

"Adrian, come on down!" Heero called out. "Your mother's coming home!"

Scrambling down the cable, Adrian seemed to act like his father in many ways, by his agility and grace of a cat. Heero stayed behind and gave his son a reassuring smile before climbing back up to Zero when Adrian had already left the hangar. Noticing the already installed AI system, Heero was impressed but when it came to the personality programming he pretty much hesitated.

'If I program the system with my life back during Operation Meteor, then it would go on a killing spree against those who attack it. If I program Zero with what I have now, it might become too soft.' He gave a quiet sigh. 'Might as well program it with everything of who I am.'

That done, he quickly cleaned up everything and giving Zero one more look, Heero silently left the hangar.

After the doors slid shut, casting the hangar into darkness, one of the screens activated and an image of Heero, one wearing a white tank top, seemed to smile happily.

x x x x x x x

"Relena, are you sure you want to go out?" Heero asked from their bed, watching his wife as she put on a spaghetti-strap dress that partially showed out her tummy. "You are three-and-half months along and you know how over-protective I can really get. With all those attempts on you and Adrian..."

"Why not? Sally did say that I should get more Vitamin D by going out in the sun more often," Relena replied cheerfully, pausing to pat her unborn child. "Not to mention, so would our child. Don't worry, Hee-chan, we'll be fine."

Shaking his head, Heero stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist, gently rocking back and forth to the tune of the song that they had danced to so long ago. "I just can't bear losing you, Lena-chan," he whispered softly, tucking her head underneath his chin. "You gave many things back to me of what I had lost. My life, humanity, and most importantly, my soul."

Twisting her head so that she can look up at her husband's eyes, Relena smiled softly. "You gave me a way out of that boring routine I had to live everyday. I had always hoped for some adventure and when you landed on that beach that day, I somehow knew that you were the one to get me out for, well, fun."

"And look where that 'fun' end us up. A wonderful life and a we now have a wonderful son, with another along the way," Heero whispered.

Both leaned in closer, slowly closed their eyes and just before they could touch lips, the 'moment' nearly got interrupted by Adrian barging into their room.

"Tou--YIPE!"

He immediately did a 180 degrees, got out of the room, slammed the door quickly, and proceed to wait outside, all the while blushing bright red as his Prussian blue eyes were burning with total and complete embarrassment. Heero and Relena only both shrugged and finished up what they just started.

"Whoops. Should've waited."

_Psst._

You can't quite consider the voice complete audible by ears nor by the mind. It was something of both; you hear the sound like any normal human while also hearing it within your head, though somewhat amplified but not too loud, Dolby Digital style.

Adrian's head whipped up, sharp hearing inherited from his father began scanning the hallway.

_Psst. Over here!_

The little seven-year old looked to the right.

_Left, I'm in your room._

Quietly and silently, Adrian went into his room without making much of a sound.The son of Heero Yuy and Relena Peacecraft had practically inherited most of his father's traits: enhanced hearing, stealth, looks (except for the blonde streak, from his mother), grace, agility, strength, higher lung capacity, enhanced eyesight, high withstandment of pain, ability to go almost anywhere without making a sound, not-too-fond-and-proud-of charm on the ladies, and the oh-so-infamous Death Glare, much to his mother's dismay and delight. Not to mention, plenty of more down the on list.

Closing the door behind him, Adrian had to look around cautiously before finally locating the source of the voice.

His first reaction was a dropped jaw.

Second one was a stuttering that no words were coherent.

The slightly transparent figure sitting languidly on his bed had to chuckle. Dressed in the same style of Heero's tank top, jeans and boots, also having the same, intense, bright Prussian blue and moss green/dark brown hair, one could have easily mistaken him/it to be Heero but the clothes were all white.

"Tou-san?! But, aren't you in your room with--"

He/it placed a finger in front of his lips, doing the universal signal of stay quiet. _I'm your father, little one,_ he/it said quietly, yet pleasantly and amused, _and at the same time I'm not. Well, I am like your father, in a way or so._

The seven-year old lowered his voice. "Then--"

_I can't tell you right now but you have to trust me. I promise I won't hurt you, nor your parents._

Adrian paused. "Kay!" He then wagged a no-no finger at his father's 'twin'. "But if you do something mean I'm gonna tell tou-san and Zechsmill-jichan!"

It/he chuckled softly, reminding Adrian his father a lot. _I promise._

Heero's son suddenly held up his pinky, a solemn look upon his face. "Pinky swear?"

The figure looked startled for a moment, then smiled and hooked his pinky with Adrian, if it was truly possible for translucent figures to physically touch anything solid. _Pinky swear._

"Adrian! Come on!" Heero shouted from downstairs.

Quickly letting go of the image's pinky, Adrian opened the door but turned around before joining his parents. "What's your name? I'm Adrian Peacecraft Yuy."

_My name?_

A quiet laugh rippled through the small room, drawing a huge grin from the boy.

_My name is... Reikon._

x x x x x x x

Two-and-half months had passed since 'Reikon' had befriended Adrian.

Whenever Heero was out on the more daunting missions, Reikon filled in his position by doing things the 'Perfect Soldier' usually did during his free time with his son. Namely father-and-son things but mostly in private, as Adrian had swore not to tell anyone about Reikon yet.

It seemed a bit odd. Adrian had almost expected Reikon to go straight past him, since he was transparent but Reikon had surprised the boy by being able to physically pick him up or toss him into the air, like Heero would do. The figure pretty much matched up to Heero in almost every aspect to the 'Perfect Soldier'.

Reikon had hoped to reveal himself in the most straightforward way but Fate seemed to have other ideas for 'him'.

It started out to another beautiful day, the sky partially covered with clouds popping in and out. Most people were all enjoying the quite peace that seemed to finally settle down, especially the Yuy family.

They had decided to head for the park, to spend the day like any normal family. Trowa had also joined them, with Catherine and their eight-year nephew, Peirot, who had spent several years trying to find a family matching Cathy's last name. Much to the acrobat's total dismay, Peirot looked a lot like him, from the bangs to the eyes. The knife thrower was delighted to no end.

"Hey, Peirot! Bet you can't hit the island there!" Adrian said, pointing at a jutting spot of land that was sticking out in the middle of the lake.

"Bet I can!"

"Ten!"

"Five!"

"Eight!"

"Six-fifty!"

Simultaneously. "Seven!"

Picking up a small rock, Peirot tossed it into the air several times, judged the distance with a careful eye, wound up like a baseball pitcher and lobbed a good fast ball.

The rock landed just one inch short of the mini-island, housing several mallards.

Peirot's face dropped. "Dang!"

"Ha! Fork over!"

"Can I do that tomorrow?"

"Nope!"

"Please?"

"Iie."

"Pretty please?"

"Dewa arimasen. Fork it over." Adrian fixed his Death Glare onto Peirot, with satisfying results as the older boy reluctantly pulled out a few bills and placed them into the younger boy's hand.

Heero and Trowa raised their eyebrows as they saw the exchange, both lying on their backs, the soft grass cushioning them. Cathy and Relena were sitting several feet away, both chatting happily and catching up on news and gossip.

"I think it's about high time I kill Duo for teaching my son on betting," Heero snorted.

Trowa's lips twitched into a small smile. "Can I join you?"

"Help yourself, Trowa. How'd you find Peirot?"

"Social Services came to us, actually. His father was Dad's older brother's son, our cousin and he passed away when Peirot was only three. His mother somehow managed to make a full bio on him and after she also passed away, Social Services sent him to several fosters homes, while keeping his profile. When he became seven, they finally found Cathy's last name and--" Trowa gestured at Peirot, who was now wrestling with Adrian. "--here we are. I guess I finally have someone to protect and someone to be looked up to."

"Not just you, all of us. Jason is taking care of his niece with his sister. Duo managed to propose to Hilde. Wufei," Heero smirked, "got himself three hellions with Sally and he seems happy about it, despite the youngest is a girl. And Quatre is just starting with Dorothy. As long as I have someone to protect, someone to be looked up to, I'll keep on fighting to protect them. But for now, I want some peace and quiet we all worked so hard for."

Heero held up his left hand and stared at the wedding band on his ring finger, still remembering their wedding day and the day of Adrian's birth, which seemed like yesterday.

Trowa rolled his head to look at his friend, and a genuine smile crossed his face. "I guess you're right."

Sudden rumblings and explosions got all of their heads whipped up toward the city.

"Tou-san, what's going on?!" Adrian squawked out when Heero had grabbed him around the waist and pulled Relena by her wrist.

"Heero! What happened?!" Relena begged but she already knew the answer and feared it.

Heero didn't pay attention to either his wife or son, only concentrating on getting his family to safety. "Not again..."

Trowa also had also snatched his cousin and Cathy, pulling them toward their truck.

The two families got into their respective vehicles and raced toward the city, both pilots intent on finding out and wanting to strangle the idiots who threatened what they held dear and precious.

Up high in the sky, Reikon spat out curses in multiple languages/dialects, most in Japanese, when he saw the smoke and Mobile Suits rampaging through the once peaceful streets of New Port City.

_DAMNITALL! This is too early! Why did this had to happen?! I wanted to show myself but not this way! None of the others are rebuilt and I doubt they will be! Damn it all to hell!_

Spitting out another ninety-nine curses, also damning the idiots to their first ancestors, Reikon disappeared into a streak of light.

x x x x x x x

At the same time, Heero nearly lost control of their SUV when something snapped within him. Jerking the wheel to avoid a head-on collision with an oncoming car and pulling next to the street, he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

"Heero? Are you okay?" Relena had seen the look across his face but couldn't make out what was going on through her husband's eyes. His muscles seemed to bulge out under his shirt when his grip had extremely tightened around the wheel, most likely leaving several grip marks.

Taking several deep breaths, Heero's eyes finally opened and he started the car again. Trowa's voice cackled through the radio, speaking over the reports and orders from both sides of Preventers and White Fang/Rommafellar.

"You okay, Heero?"

"Nothing...but something. I don't know."

Trowa frowned as he continued to follow his friend's car. "Explain?"

"Can't."

"Why?"

"Don't understand."

"Don't know?"

"More or less."

Under normal circumstances, Cathy would've rolled her eyes whenever she hears the two-three word conversations exchanged by her brother and Heero but today, she seemed to have fallen into a trance. Memories of fire, smoke, burning, losing her parents, losing her baby brother Triton, danced within her mind, a never ending movie reel.

"Cathy?" Trowa's voice seemed far away.

That snapped the knife thrower out of her nightmare.

"You okay, sis?"Catherine shook her head to clear the muddled thoughts. "I'm fine, Trowa. It's my memories."

Trowa glanced at his sibling through the corner of his eye, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. "We'll make it through," he whispered, "I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Trowa."

"Then I'll try."

x x x x x x x

Driving down the streets, filled with people in panic mode, seemed like days to them. Just as they reached the nearby hotel, an explosion rocked both their cars over.

Relena gave a scream as Heero dove to cover her fragile body with his stronger one, Adrian curling up into a ball and covering his head as their SUV flipped upside down. Trowa was able to keep his truck upright and pulled it over before jumping out.

"Heero!"

Gunfire stopped him in his tracks, sending debris flying into the air and scratching his arm in the process. Looking up, Trowa realized that it was a Leo with a machine gun and wisely got Cathy and Peirot into some place safe.

"Trowa! Don't go!" Cathy held his arm tightly, afraid of losing him again. "Please. I don't want to lose my brother again," she whispered. Peirot had already scrambled out and was waiting, quietly, trembling.

He was about to pry her fingers off but a low voice within his head told him that it was better if he stayed with them. Looking over to Peirot, Trowa understood that his cousin had never faced anything about war. Facing Cathy, he nodded and pulled his sister to safety with Peirot.

Scrambling out of his overturned vehicle, Heero frantically helped Relena and Adrian out, in fear that the gas tank might explode. "Relena, get out now!" With strength several times more than the average man, he wrenched the door wide opened.

Fumbling with her seat belt, she was finally able to maneuver herself out of the wreck without harming her unborn child. Adrian quickly followed his mother.

"Tou-san! What's going on?!" the young boy asked, eyes filled with fear.

Heero looked at Adrian and softened a bit. "Something went wrong and tou-san is gonna try to fix it. You stay with your kaa-san, okay?"

Just before his son could nod, another explosion occurred and a large piece of a building had begun to fall on them. Having no other choice, Heero covered his family and prayed silently, closing his eyes, listening to Relena scream and Adrian's cries.

The crash was heard and he felt the impact but instead of the crushing pain, a large shadow covered them. Opening his eyes and looking up, Heero was surprised to see Wing Zero protecting them with it's shield. The Leo continued to fire upon the powerful angel-like Gundam as if in a frenzy, almost like the pilot inside had completely freaked out.

"Zero?" was the first thing out of the Perfect Soldier's mouth.

The eye optics flashed. _Move! Go, Heero!_

"Reikon-chan!" Adrian yelled."Reikon?" Relena asked, subconsciously covering her stomach protectively.

"'Zero Soul'," Heero translated softly. "Also 'spirit' or 'soul' while 'rei' means 'zero'. Double meaning name."

'Who would have thought that a machine would have a life of its own? I expected it but not from Zero. Maybe that's why Adrian recgonized him--it when it--no--he spoke. He sounds just like me.'

_I can't fight unless you move! Now go!_

Nodding his head, Heero pulled Relena and Adrian toward where Trowa is with Cathy and Peirot. After going a safe distance, Heero left Trowa to keep an eye on his family by climbing a fire-escape to watch his Gundam.

With nothing holding 'him' back, Zero pulled out his shield and fired at the Leo with its machine cannons, thus eliminating it. Moving carefully through the barely wide streets as to avoid stepping on the Preventers and civilians that were staring at him with gaping mouths, Zero continued to slash and weave his way through the thick of Mobile Suits, only using his beam saber and hitting that vital spot where it would completely immobilize the MS, yet destroying the unfortunate pilot. He pretty much kept damage to the buildings as minimal as he could, since Mobile Suits were meant for open-space combat, not being as agile around tall structures but this was mainly almost like a battle repeat during the Battle of Brussels nine years back.

Zero didn't really have much of a choice. Either destroy those who fought against peace or let them survive to do it again.

As Heero continued to watch his Gundam fight by itself, something within him made him clutch his chest, not truly in pain but a fire seemed to wake up inside of him.

_Figured it out yet?_

Whipping his head and gun around to face the intruder who dared sneak up on him, Heero saw Reikon standing behind him, looking at his counterpart with glowing Prussians eyes, in the white tank top, jeans, and boots.

"Figured out what... Zero."

_You're pretty dense. I'm you._

Heero frowned. "How."

_The AI system. You programmed me with what you are, both past personality and present emotions._ Reikon gesture at his Gundam self, still fighting on pure ZERO System reflexes without a pilot, before pointing at himself. _That half, Wing Zero, is your past personality. I'm your present personality. Despite that, I'm--_

"...You're still one and the same, no matter what the shape you take," Heero finished, holstering his gun and standing up.

Reikon/Zero smiled. _I've also been around for quite some time._

"Elaborate. I thought you only showed up after I installed the AI system."

The translucent figure shook his head. _I've been around since AC 194._

Heero's eyes widened a bit, fighting against the memories. "No."

_Don't deny it, face it. When Dr. J retrained you, he, in a way without his knowing nor intention, created me. I wasn't really anything at that time, only a drifting ball of light imperceivable by the naked human eye. After Quatre built Wing Zero and you began to pilot it, I was able to assimilate with Zero._

"..." Heero looked at his Gundam, then at the form, silently analyzing everything.

_I took your form because I felt comfortable and because I thought Adrian would feel comfortable with,_ Reikon answered the not spoken question.

The 'Perfect Soldier' cocked his head at Reikon, still keeping an ear open for the explosions. "You talked with Adrian?"

_Why not? Children accept and believe in things more easily than adults do._ Reikon chuckled at Heero's Death Glare directed at him. _Well, it's true. It took you a little more than one year to admit your love to Relena. Took Zechs several months to accept you as his brother-in-law._

"Why choose 'reikon' as your name?"

_How dense can you really get._ It was a statement, not a question. _I am Wing Zero, thus 'rei', and I am the soul of Wing Zero, hence 'kon'._

As explosions continued to erupt in the background behind them, Heero finally cracked a smile. Not the kind like Duo's but a small one, like Trowa's. Holding out his hand, the pilot of Zero firmly grasped Reikon's hand and held it, arm-wrestling style.

"For whatever your reasons of existing, I'm grateful that you saved my family's life, mine included. I owe you."

Reikon also smiled, this one a soft one like Relena's. Suddenly, his body gave a shudder and he jerked his head to where Zero was still battling the oncoming, a frown contorted onto his face.

His action didn't go unnoticed by the 'Perfect Soldier'. "Zero?"

_I can't stay separated away from Zero too long when he's fighting._

Reikon let go of Heero's hand, stepped back away from his counterpart, and as if the Angel of Death appearing itself, slowly spread out six, large, feathered wings, all white, spread out from his back. With that, he vanished in a bright light, causing Heero to cover his eyes with his hand. Pulling his hand down, Heero saw that in place of Reikon was a small white, floating globe.

"Zero?" he repeated, this time quietly.

The globe spiraled around Heero from foot to head, wisking his hair to stand up for a breif moment before heading straight toward the still battling Mobile Suit and disappearing into Zero through the large chest gem.

Heero looked on with total faith, the same look of faith as Relena had given him when he had set off to fight against Zechs.

"Do let me and the others live a peaceful life, Zero," he whispered before sliding down the fire escape to rejoin his family and friend.

As if hearing the precious request, a reply was sent back, like words dancing in the wind.

_Mission accepted, Heero._

x x x x x x x

Adrian carefully slipped in and out of the large concrete debris scattered throughout the streets, all the while avoiding the sharp pieces, parts, and glass from the destroyed Leos and Aries. He had told his mother that he was going out to see and left, despite Relena and Cathy's protests. Peirot had also followed his friend. Trowa had to leave to find any Preventers to get an update on the situation.

"I can't see a thing!" Peirot complained. "Let's try the roofs!"

The younger boy looked at him as if he was insane. "And which one would you want to climb?"

Peirot pointed at the ten-storey bank next to them. "That one."

Heero's son rolled his and ran into the now empty building, Trowa's nephew tagging behind him. Once inside, they both found and took the strangely still operating elevator up all the way to the roof. Once outside, they were surprised to feel the entire structure shake from the still ongoing Mobile Suit battle, very much threatening to toss them off their over to the edge, both boys saw Zero exchanging gun fire with several Leos and Aries, the latter Mobile Suits losing pathetically.

"Yay! Go Zero!" Adrian cheered loudly. "Kick 'em in the left knee! Kick 'em in the right knee! Kick 'em all the way to the moonie!"

Peirot shook his head at his friend's action. "Maaaa. That didn't make sense. Adrian, this isn't a soccer game! And your dad isn't piloting it!"

"Yeah, but still! Zero's kicking their butt! Go Zero! Go Zero!"

If it wholly and truly was possible, the powerful Gundam could have smiled upon the fan attention he was getting.

One Aries saw the two boys on top of the roof and without thinking anything else, fired upon it with several rockets from the missile pod.

Adrian and Peirot froze upon seeing the rockets headed their way, fear rooted them right where they are standing and right before the pods hit the building, the two of them yelled, ducked, and covered their heads.

The explosion came soon, the three missiles trashing the four floors underneath them, causing the roof to shatter and tossing both of them into the air.

"TOU-SAAAAAAAAAN!!" Adrian screamed as he and Peirot fell along with the concrete debris.

Heero, hearing his son's cries, had ran out of the elevator in time to leap off of the building, grab and hold onto both his son and Peirot close on pure instinct. Each boy was under his arm and tucked close to his body, albeit completely aware that what he just did was extremely stupid and total suicide.

The 'Perfect Soldier' does not make stupid mistakes but this 'Perfect Soldier' gave up on that philosophy long ago.

"I'm sorry, Relena..." he whispered, bowing his head, feeling the two boys' arms tighten around his larger body, as if trying to draw strength from him as they continued their descent.

Something caught them and Heero got a pretty good idea of who, or more accurately, what caught them as he landed with a slightly heavy thump.

Looking up, Heero saw Zero holding them with it's right hand while shielding them, still firing at last few, remaining Mobile Suits. He could practically feel immense power ebbing through the Gundam, including warmth from the metal hand, something he had never felt before in all of his months of piloting Zero.

Both boys were staring at the large Gundam with wide eyes and slacked jaws. Heero, still having those soldier instincts, heard no more explosions nor gunfire, an obvious sign that it had finally ended. The only sounds on the streets were the emergency vehicles coming to check on the civilians and Preventers rounding the remaining ground troops.

_They're all eliminated, if you're wondering, Heero. Mission completed._

Zero slowly got down into the kneeling position and gently lowered his hand onto the level street, allowing Heero to scramble onto solid ground. Adrian and Peirot wiggled out of Heero's grasp and both gladly lunged themselves into Relena and Cathy's arms, both women showing up in an ambulance. Trowa showed up right after in a jeep driven by another Preventer.

"Kaa-san!" yelled Adrian, hugging his mother tightly but carefully, mindful of his future sibling.

"Auntie Cathy!" cried Peirot, bowling into the knife thrower's stomach.

"Whoa, easy there, kiddos," a paramedic soothed, pulling out some anesthesia as another one guided the two boys onto the ambulance. "Got to make sure that you two don't get any infections."

Relena practically threw herself onto her husband's arms but Heero caught her before she could hurt herself or their child. "Heero! I was worried sick!"

A smile graced Heero's face. "You know that I'd never really leave you without a good reason, Lena-chan."

_Pardon me but can we get on some major repairs? I didn't come out of this one without a scratch._

Heero chuckled softly at Zero/Reikon's impatient tone while Relena only stared at her husband's Gundam with wide eyes.

"Zero... talked...?" she squeaked out. Cathy and Trowa were also eyeing him in surprise.

_Only to those who piloted me and those with a relation to the pilots._

"I'll explain things when we get back home," Heero whispered into Relena's ear and pulled her into a tight hug.

Adrian and Peirot both made disgusted noises, being still boys and Trowa only laughed, Cathy joining him but softly.

x x x x x x x

**One month...**

_:"So basically, Wing Zero is now a living-breathing-walking machine with the ability to project an image that looks like you, taking the name Reikon. Well, not breathing but you get my drift,":_ Jason summarized on the comm, the screen displaying his messy complex as he continued to struggle to hold a baby joey still.

"Basically, yes." Heero smiled. "I am glad to have installed the AI system into Zero, but I can't wholly rely on him completely. I still enjoy piloting Zero and when I'm away on the more daunting missions, he helps keep an eye on Adrian."

Looking out, he saw Adrian throwing one of his infamous fast balls at Reikon, causing him to be thrown back a bit from the force, who was playing catcher.

_":You do have to keep in mind, Heero,":_ Jason said, barely wagging a finger as he continued to tightly hold onto the joey still struggling to be free from its grasp, _:"that an AI system always, technically, usually have the tendency of self-preservation. The only time I had to deal with an AI gone crazy was when it was controlled by another AI gone totally insane and that's it.":_

Heero leaned back against his chair. "I doubt that will happen but I'll keep it in mind. Don't want Zero getting too possessive over Relena."

Jason cocked his head, not noticing the tail whacking against his head. _:"Speaking of Zero, how are the other guys getting used to the idea of a Gundam talking?":_

"Duo fainted when Zero spoke to him for the first time, so did Hilde, Wufei went onto a full rant that lasted three hours, while Sally did a full diagnostic on Zero, Trowa seems to be accepting it fairly well, Cathy is surprised but liked the idea, Quatre is still struggling to understand, Dorothy just paled, Noin also did a diagnostic but included full cavity checkup and Zechs is in total denial," Heero replied, ticking off the list from his fingers.

The younger pilot just blinked rapidly, then shook his head. _:"Me and Achika have gotta be at your place one of these days.":_ Another whack hit his head, drawing a wince. _:"Ow! Gotta go, catch ya later, mate!":_ The screen went blank.

Heero looked out at the window again, watching as his son chasing after his 'mechanical counterpart' with a squirt gun. Relena was sitting outside on a lounge chair watching the scene, laughing as she got sprayed several times from stray water streams.

'Would Zero do something drastic?'

_Wouldn't dream of it, Heero. Now come on out and join us. You're missing all the relaxation with your son._

Smiling, the 'Perfect Soldier' ran outside and joined in, all the while smiling and enjoying his life.

* * *

AN: I had always believed that Zero was alive, one way or another, and usually toyed with the idea but never got around to put it down in words till now.

Also somewhat inspired by **Quincy007**'s fic "Zero Lives". In no way am I copying the guy by using the idea of a 'living mecha'. I have read very few 'living mecha' fics a long time ago and have always liked the idea of it.

In this fic, Wing Zero is based on Wing Zero Custom but it has the shield that was used in the episodes. Despite that, it still can't change to it's Neo Bird Mode. Why I chose it to be Wing Zero Kai (Custom) is because I usually associate Heero as 'the Angel of Death', contrary to Duo being Shinigami, 'the God of Death'. Both end lives but Heero does the job of scaring the baddies to death, while Duo does it more faster.


End file.
